‘Just unloaded’

Carving up: Elin Tawharu from Mount Maunganui won the Open Women's division at Red Bus on Makorori Beach on Saturday.

Competitors from around the country gathered at Makorori Beach on Saturday for the Gisborne Surfing Championships.

People from as far away as Taranaki and Christchurch made the journey and waxed their boards for the swell at Red Bus.

Of the four divisions, Skylar McFetridge from Taranaki won the junior girls and Tao Mouldey of Mount Maunganui claimed first place in the junior boys.

Maz Quinn took out the men's open.

Quinn said it had been 18 months since he'd been in a contest but it was hard not to go in when it was your local town.

“I got a really good board and obviously surfed a lot of the time at home and just unloaded,” he said.

“It all came together in the end.

“Getting back into a contest mindset was the hardest thing. I guess I'm always competitive.”

Surfers had to catch two waves and do their best from what they had and Quinn found it tough with the waves small and having only 15-minute heats.

“Going out and getting two good waves in a certain time limit is pretty hard to do,” he said.

“The weekend was looking all right and the waves were OK. They were small but quite fun at Makorori.

“It was definitely good to get back, put a rashie on again and get the competitive juices flowing.”

The women's open division was won by Elin Tawharu from Mount Maunganui.

Tawharu said it was a really fun competition . . . “not as big as a normal competition heat-wise but really good”.

“Gisborne Boardriders did an amazing job of organising and hosting it.”

Tawharu said she was really stoked to take the win but found it hard with 15-minute heats, and having no wave-priority was challenging.

“There were still a few big names in the draw so it was a tough competition.

“Lately, a lot of the comps have been priority only — so it was back to old-school snaking, getting-back-to-the-roots competition, keeping it local, competing for fun again and not taking it so seriously . . . just enjoying surfing and hanging out with your mates at the beach all day.”

Gisborne Boardriders development manager and event organiser Flo Bub said the feedback from the event had been phenomenal, especially from the out-of-town surfers.

“The Gizzy Champs had everything we could ask for,” Bub said.

“All our local top surfers came out and competed against New Zealand's best.

“The conditions for this time of the year couldn't have been much better for a surf competition.

“It was an action-packed event with very close heats and very deserved winners. We had offshore or light winds the whole day and great contestable waves throughout all tides.”

Bub said everyone loved coming to Gisborne for an event, and competing against New Zealand surfing legends like Maz and Jay Quinn, Ricardo Christie or Bobby Hansen was a real highlight for them.

“It was also a chance for our juniors to see the highest standard of surfing in New Zealand and know what they are working towards,” Bub said.

“We are looking forward to bringing it back next year and sharing the stoke with everyone once again.”